This invention is in the field of devices used to pick fruit or other edible items from a variety of plants, including vines such as grape vines. Typically, the plants to be harvested are arranged in a row with the harvester then proceeding along the length of the row removing the edible items therefrom. Grape harvesters have heretofore been provided which are designed to straddle a row of grape vines with the harvester having a pair of spaced apart arms elevated above ground and driven in a generally back-and-forth horizontal movement to pulsate or strike opposite sides of the grape vine causing the grapes to fall from the vine into a receptacle on the harvester. Typically, the pulsating arms are driven in unison first in a general horizontal direction and then in an opposite direction. The arms are movably mounted to a picking head in turn movably mounted to the harvester to track the row of grape vines.
It is the practice to reciprocate the pulsating arms at a speed of approximately 400 to 500 cycles per minute. The pulsating arms are relatively heavy in order to impart sufficient force to the grape vines. For example, each pulsating arm may weigh approximately 80 pounds. As a result of the rapid back-and-forth movement and heavy weight of the pulsating arms, a considerable amount of vibration occurs in the picking head reducing the life of the head and in fact resulting in the eventual self-destruction of the picking head.
Disclosed herein is a balanced picking head which circumvents the aforementioned vibration problem resulting in a greatly increased life of the picking head while minimizing maintenance thereof. A pair of off-centered weights are rotated in a direction opposite of the crankshafts which drive the pulsating arms providing a force neutralizing the vibration normally resulting from the back-and-forth movement of the pulsating arms.